Liquid crystal display

ABSTRACT

A liquid crystal display device (L) according to the present invention comprises a liquid crystal display panel ( 1 ) having one or more wires on a substrate ( 1 B) thereof, and a housing having holding portions ( 120   a ) to ( 120   h ) configured to hold opposing end portions of the liquid crystal display panel, wherein a spacing (H 2 ) between a portion of an outermost wire ( 20   a ) or ( 20   i ) of the one or more wires which is located in the vicinity of the holding portion and a portion of an edge of the substrate which is located in the vicinity of the holding portion is larger than a spacing (H 1 ) between a portion of the outermost wire which is other than the portion located in the vicinity of the holding portion and a portion of the edge of the substrate which is other than the portion located in the vicinity of the holding portion.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device inwhich a liquid crystal display panel is mounted.

BACKGROUND ART

Recently, a liquid crystal display device has been widely used as animage display device of an information device such as a notebook-typepersonal computer, a word processor and the like, or an image displaydevice of a video device such as a fixed or portable television, a videomovie, a car navigation system and the like, by taking advantage of acharacteristic in which the liquid crystal display device is small,light and thin, and consumes small electricity. And, a liquid crystaldisplay panel mounted in these liquid crystal display devices typicallyhas a plurality of semiconductor devices in order to achieve a smallliquid crystal display device and a high-definition image. A Chip OnGlass process (hereinafter, referred to as a COG process) is commonlyused for mounting these semiconductor devices.

The COG process is one type of process for mounting the semiconductordevices on a substrate. Specifically, in the liquid crystal displaypanel to which the COG process is applied, the semiconductor devicessuch as a source driver, a gate driver and the like are directly mountedon a non-display region of the substrate forming the liquid crystaldisplay panel, by means of an anisotropic conductive adhesive. Theliquid crystal display panel is provided with wires through which animage signal processed at the semiconductor devices is outputted tosource lines (signal lines) and gate lines (scan lines) provided on thedisplay region, and wires through which the image signal is inputted tothe semiconductor devices. And, these wires are on the same flat planeof the non-display region of the substrate forming the liquid crystaldisplay panel. In the liquid crystal display panel thus structured, theimage signal externally inputted is inputted to the semiconductordevices, and the image signal processed at the semiconductor devices isoutputted to the source lines and the gate lines. Consequently, an imageaccording to the image signal is displayed on the display region of theliquid crystal display panel.

Such liquid crystal display device typically has a structure in whichthe liquid crystal display panel is illuminated from behind by abuilt-in lighting unit for obtaining a bright display screen. And, anedge light type in which a light guiding plate is disposed on a rearsurface of the liquid crystal display panel, and a linear light sourcesuch as a fluorescent discharge tube is disposed on an end face of thelight guiding plate is suitably employed as the lighting unit. This isbecause, the edge light type advantageously achieves a thin liquidcrystal display device and a light emitting surface with a highlyuniform luminance, and therefore is optimal as a back light of theliquid crystal display device used in the notebook-type personalcomputer or the like. And, in the liquid crystal display device used inthe portable television, the car navigation system and the like, theedge light type using two or more fluorescent discharge tubes, or theedge light type using an L-shaped or U-shaped fluorescent discharge tubeor the like, is commonly adopted considering a portability, a highluminance thereof, and the like.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a structure of a conventional liquidcrystal display device having the liquid crystal display panel to whichthe COG process is applied. And, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view takenalong line IV-IV in FIG. 4. Herein, FIG. 4 shows a condition in which afront cover is eliminated. In FIG. 4, X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axisdirections are defined as shown in the drawing. And, in FIG. 5, as amatter of convenience, a direction of the liquid crystal display deviceis shown as in the drawing.

A conventional liquid crystal display device L illustrated in FIG. 4comprises a rectangular liquid crystal display panel 1 configured todisplay an image according to an applied image signal, a housing 4configured to support the liquid crystal display panel 1 in X-axis,Y-axis, and Z-axis directions, and a flexible printed circuit board 3configured to transmit the image signal to the liquid crystal displaypanel 1.

As shown in FIG. 4, the liquid crystal display panel 1 is provided witha display region 1 a for displaying an image, and a non-display region 1b located outside of the display region 1 a. And, source drivers IC1 toIC3 and a gate driver IC4, each of which is a driving semiconductordevice configured to drive the liquid crystal display panel 1, aremounted on predetermined positions of the non-display region 1 b. Thesesemiconductor devices are mounted to electrode terminals (not shown)formed to predetermined positions of the non-display region 1 b by theCOG process. And, a plurality of wires (not shown) extend from theelectrode terminals to which the source drivers IC1 to IC3 and the gatedriver IC4 are mounted, and are electrically connected to the sourcelines and the gate lines (not shown) provided on the display region 1 aof the liquid crystal display panel 1. And, wires 2 a to 2 i extend inpredetermined shapes from the electrode terminals to which the sourcedrivers IC1 to IC3 and the gate driver IC4 are mounted, and areelectrically connected to flexible printed circuit board connectingelectrode terminals (not shown) formed on predetermined positions of thenon-display region 1 b. Meanwhile, wires 2 a′ to 2 i′ capable of beingelectrically connected to the wires 2 a to 2 i formed on the non-displayregion 1 b of the liquid crystal display panel 1 are formed on theflexible printed circuit board 3, and electrode terminals (not shown)are formed on end portions of the wires 2 a′ to 2 i′ on a liquid crystaldisplay panel 1 side. And, the liquid crystal display panel 1 and theflexible printed circuit board 3 are integral with each other such thatthe corresponding electrode terminals are electrically connected bymeans of the anisotropic conductive adhesive.

And, as shown in FIG. 4, supporting portions 4 a to 4 h are formed onpredetermined positions of the housing 4. Each of the supportingportions 4 a to 4 h is formed to have a rectangular cross-section, andto protrude from predetermined positions of the housing 4 in parallelwith the Z-axis and with the same height. The liquid crystal displaypanel 1 is disposed on the predetermined position of the housing 4 insuch a manner that end faces a to d of a substrate 1B of the liquidcrystal display panel 1 and adjacent end faces e and f of an opposedsubstrate 1A of the liquid crystal display panel 1, contact side wallsurfaces of the supporting portions 4 a to 4 h formed on the housing 4.In other words, the liquid crystal display panel 1 is fixed on thehousing 4 in X-axis and Y-axis directions by means of the supportingportions 4 a to 4 h.

As shown in FIG. 5, the conventional liquid crystal display device L hasa rectangular flat-plate-shaped transparent light guiding plate 5configured to transmit light in a direction parallel to a principalsurface thereof. And, a light source 6 is provided along one end face 5a of the light guiding plate 5 by a fixing means not shown. Furthermore,a reflecting sheet 7 is provided so as to enclose the light source 6 andto contact a lower surface and an opposing end face 5 b of the lightguiding plate 5. The reflecting sheet 7 encloses the light source 6 soas to be substantially in U-shape in cross-section. The reflecting sheet7 is fixed to the light guiding plate 5 in such a manner that anadhesion surface 8 on one end portion of the reflecting sheet 7 isbonded to the light guiding plate 5 by a double face adhesive tape (notshown). In other words, in the liquid crystal display device L, thelight source 6 is disposed along the end face 5 a of the light guidingplate 5, and, the light source 6, the light guiding plate 5, and thereflecting sheet 7 compose an edge light type lighting unit UT.

A rear cover 10 is provided so as to contact a lower surface of thelighting unit UT. The rear cover 10 comprises a rectangular plate-shapedbody portion 10 a disposed to extend in a right-left direction, andrectangular plate-shaped vertical portions 10 c and 10 b formed toextend upward from right and left ends of the body portion 10 a so as tohave the same length. In other words, the lighting unit UT is providedso as to have predetermined spacings between the same and the verticalportions 10 b and 10 c of the rear cover 10, and to contact an uppersurface of the body portion 10 a of the rear cover 10. And, right andleft housings 40 a and 40 b, each of which forms the housing 4, arerespectively provided so as to contact left wall surfaces of thevertical portions 10 c and 10 b of the rear cover 10. These housings 40a and 40 b comprise rectangular vertical portions 401 a and 401 bdisposed to extend upwardly, respectively, and rectangular horizontalportions 402 a and 402 b disposed to extend in a right-left direction,respectively. A rectangular plate-shaped light correction sheet 9 a foruniformizing light is provided so as to extend from a lower surface of atip end portion of the horizontal portion 402 a to a lower surface of atip end portion of the horizontal portion 402 b. And, the liquid crystaldisplay panel 1 is provided so as to extend from an upper surface of thehorizontal portion 402 a to an upper surface of the horizontal portion402 b. The liquid crystal display panel 1 is fixed to the housing 4 insuch a manner that predetermined regions thereof are bonded to the uppersurfaces of the horizontal portions 402 a and 402 b. And, the supportingportions 4 a and 4 f are formed to protrude upward from predeterminedpositions of the horizontal portions 402 a and 402 b so as to have thesame length. And, the liquid crystal display panel 1 is disposed on apredetermined position of the housing 4 in such a manner that the endfaces a and c of the substrate 1B contact side wall surfaces of thesupporting portions 4 a and 4 f, respectively, and the end face e of theopposing substrate 1A contacts the side wall surface of the supportingportion 4 a. And, front covers 11 a and 11 b formed in L-shape incross-section are provided so as to cover the non-display region 1B ofthe liquid crystal display panel 1 and the housings 40 a and 40 b. Thefront cover 11 a is provided on an upper surface of the supportingportion 4 f so as to have a minute spacing between the same and theupper surface of the liquid crystal display panel 1 and to have a minutespacing between the same and the left side wall surface of the verticalportion 401 b of the housing 40 b. The front cover 11 b is provided on aright end face of the horizontal portion 402 a of the housing 40 a andon the right wall surface of the vertical portion 10 c of the rear cover10 so as to have a minute spacing between the same and the upper surfaceof the liquid crystal display panel 1.

The light guiding plate 5 is made of a material such as acrylic resin.And the reflecting sheet 7 is formed by a white resinous film having alight reflectivity, for example. Furthermore, the housing 4 is made ofresin, such as polycarbonate, for example.

In the liquid crystal display device L thus structured, the lightingunit UT is supported by the rear cover 10, and the rear cover 10 and thelight correction sheet 9 a are supported by the housings 4. And, theliquid crystal display panel 1 is suitably supported by the housings 4.

And, the light emitted from the light source 6 enters the end face 5 aof the light guiding plate 5. The light propagates within the lightguiding plate 5 and emanates from the upper surface thereof. The lightleaking out of the lower surface and the end face 5 b of the lightguiding plate 5 is returned into the light guiding plate 5 by means ofthe reflecting sheet 7. The light emanating from the upper surface ofthe light guiding plate 5 passes through the light correction sheet 9 a,thereby achieving uniform intensity distribution. And, when the lightwhich has passed the light correction sheet 9 a is passing through theliquid crystal display panel 1, transmissivity of the light in theliquid crystal display panel 1 is controlled according to the imagesignal applied to the liquid crystal display panel 1, and thereby animage is displayed on the display region 1 a of the liquid crystaldisplay panel 1.

However, in the conventional liquid crystal display device thusstructured, since the housing 4 is made of resin, the housing 4 isrequired to be formed with a certain thickness in order to satisfymechanical strength thereof. This has impeded achievement of smallnessand thinness which the liquid crystal display device L is required toprovide. Recently, in order to solve the problem, an attempt has beenmade to form the housing 4 by a thin metal plate. However, if thehousing 4 is formed by the thin metal plate, the liquid crystal displaypanel 1 is directly supported by metal. And, if an excessive impactstress or the like is applied to portions of the liquid crystal displaypanel 1 which contact the supporting portions 4 a to 4 h due to fall orthe like after the liquid crystal display device L is finished, and in amanufacturing process of mounting the liquid crystal display panel 1,the portions of the liquid crystal display panel might break. And, whenthe end face of the liquid crystal display panel 1 is broken, and evenone of the wires 2 a to 2 i provided on the non-display region 1 b isdamaged, the image signal is not properly transmitted, thereby causing anew problem that a normal image is not displayed on the liquid crystaldisplay panel 1.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a small, thin, andhighly reliable liquid crystal display device capable of inhibitinggeneration of an abnormal image which may be caused by fall or the like.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the presentinvention, there is provided a liquid crystal display device comprisinga liquid crystal display panel having one or more wires on a substratethereof, and a housing having holding portions configured to holdopposing end portions of the liquid crystal display panel, wherein aspacing between a portion of an outermost wire of the one or more wireswhich is located in the vicinity of the holding portion and a portion ofan edge of the substrate which is located in the vicinity of the holdingportion is larger than a spacing between a portion of the outermost wirewhich is other than the portion located in the vicinity of the holdingportion and a portion of the edge of the substrate which is other thanthe portion located in the vicinity of the holding portion.

In such a configuration, since the outermost wire of the one or morewires is provided to be spaced sufficiently apart from the portion ofthe edge of the substrate which is held by the holding portion, itbecomes possible to inhibit occurrence of break of the wire in a casewhere the end portion of the substrate is damaged. Consequently, itbecomes possible to inhibit a problem that a normal image is notdisplayed in a display region of the liquid crystal display panel.

In this case, spacing between the portion of the outermost wire of theone or more wires which is located in the vicinity of the holdingportion and the portion of the edge of the substrate which is located inthe vicinity of the holding portion is not less than 2 mm and not morethan 5 mm.

In such a configuration, it becomes possible to inhibit occurrence ofbreak of the wires provided on the substrate as long as the liquidcrystal display device is normally used. Consequently, it becomespossible to inhibit occurrence of the problem that a normal image is notdisplayed in the display region of the liquid crystal display panel.

In this case, the spacing between the portion of the outermost wirewhich is other than the portion located in the vicinity of the holdingportion and the portion of the edge of the substrate which is other thanthe portion located in the vicinity of the holding portion is less than2 mm.

In such a configuration, a non-display region of the substrate can beeffectively used to form the wires on the substrate.

And, in this case, a non-display region is formed on a peripheralportion of the liquid crystal display panel, and the outermost wire isprovided on the non-display region to extend substantially along an endportion of the liquid crystal display panel.

In such a configuration, since probability that the outermost wirebreaks becomes higher when the end portion of the substrate is damaged,for example, effect of the present invention is further enhanced.

And, in this case, the housing is made of metal.

In such a configuration, the housing can be made thinner than in aconventional art. In addition, since metal has also a shielding effectfrom an electromagnetic wave or the like, it becomes possible to inhibitoccurrence of malfunction of a semiconductor device mounted on thesubstrate due to influence of the electromagnetic wave or the likeemitted from a light source.

In this case, the housing is formed by a thin plate.

In such a configuration, the liquid crystal display device may be madesmaller and thinner than in the conventional art. And the housing may beformed easily.

The object, as well as other objects, features and advantages of thepresent invention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of the preferred embodiments taken with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a structure of a liquid crystal displaydevice according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view showing the structure of the liquidcrystal display device according to the embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a structure of a conventional liquidcrystal display device; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 4.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be describedwith reference to drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a structure of a liquid crystal displaydevice according to the embodiment of the present invention. And, FIG. 2is an enlarged plan view showing the structure of the liquid crystaldisplay device according to the embodiment of the present invention.And, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I in FIG. 1.Herein, FIGS. 1 and 2 show a condition in which a front cover iseliminated. In FIGS. 1 and 2, X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions aredefined as shown in the drawings. And, as a matter of convenience, inFIG. 3, a direction of the liquid crystal display device is shown as inthe drawing.

A liquid crystal display device L according to the embodiment of thepresent invention illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a rectangular liquidcrystal display panel 1 configured to display an image according to anapplied image signal, a rear cover 12 configured to support the liquidcrystal display panel 1 in X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions, and aflexible printed circuit board 3 configured to transmit the image signalto the liquid crystal display panel 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid crystal display panel 1 according to thisembodiment of the present invention is provided with a display region 1a for displaying an image, and a non-display region 1 b located outsideof the display region 1 a. And, source drivers IC1 to IC3 and a gatedriver IC4 each of which is a driving semiconductor device configured todrive the liquid crystal display panel 1 are mounted on predeterminedpositions of the non-display region 1 b. These semiconductor devices aremounted to electrode terminals (not shown) formed on the predeterminedpositions of the non-display region 1 b by a COG process. And, aplurality of wires (not shown) extend from the electrode terminals towhich the source drivers IC1 to IC3 and the gate driver IC4 are mounted,and are electrically connected to the source lines and the gate lines(not shown) provided on the display region 1 a of the liquid crystaldisplay panel 1. And, wires 20 a, 20 b, 2 c to 2 g, 20 h, and 20 iextend in predetermined shapes from the electrode terminals to which thesource drivers IC1 to IC3 and the gate driver IC4 are mounted, and areelectrically connected to flexible printed circuit board connectingelectrode terminals (not shown) formed on predetermined positions of thenon-display region 1 b. Wires 2 a′ to 2 i′ capable of being electricallyconnected to wires 20 a, 20 b, 2 c to 2 g, 20 h and 20 i formed on thenon-display region 1 b of the liquid crystal display panel 1 are formedon the flexible printed circuit board 3, and electrode terminals (notshown) are formed on end portions of the wires 2 a′ to 2 i′ on a liquidcrystal display panel 1 side. And, the liquid crystal display panel 1and the flexible printed circuit board 3 are integral with each othersuch that the corresponding electrode terminals are electricallyconnected by means of the anisotropic conductive adhesive.

Now, a shape of the wire 20 a according to this embodiment of thepresent invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2.As shown in FIG. 2, an outermost wire 20 a provided on the non-displayregion 1 b of a substrate 1B is formed to have a portion which is spaceda predetermined distance H1 apart from a portion of an end face b of thesubstrate 1B which does not contact a supporting portion (holdingportion) 120 d and is substantially parallel to the end face b. And, thewire 20 a is also formed to have a portion which is spaced thepredetermined distance H1 apart from a portion of an end face c of thesubstrate 1B which does not contact supporting portions 120 e and 120 fand is substantially parallel to the end face c. In addition, the wire20 a is formed to have a portion spaced a predetermined distance H2larger than the predetermined distance H1 apart from a portion of theend face b of the substrate 1B which contacts the supporting portion 120d and is substantially parallel to the end face b. And, the wire 20 a isalso formed to have a portion spaced the predetermined distance H2larger than the predetermined distance H1 apart from a portion of theend face c of the substrate 1B which contacts the supporting portion 120e and is substantially parallel to the end face c.

And, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in this embodiment of the presentinvention, a housing is formed by the rear cover 12 which is a thinmetal plate. And, supporting portions 120 a to 120 h are formed onpredetermined positions of the rear cover 12. The supporting portions120 a to 120 h are formed so as to protrude in convex shape from sidesurfaces of the rear cover 12 and in parallel with X-axis or Y-axisdirection from predetermined positions of the rear cover 12 so as tohave the same length in Z-axis direction. And, the liquid crystaldisplay panel 1 is disposed on a predetermined position on the rearcover 12 in such a manner that the end faces a to d of the substrate 1Bforming the liquid crystal display panel 1 and adjacent end faces e andf of an opposed substrate 1A forming the liquid crystal display panel 1,contact side surfaces of the supporting portions 120 a to 120 h formedon the rear cover 12. In other words, the liquid crystal display panel 1is fixed on the rear cover 12 in X-axis and Y-axis directions by meansof the supporting portions 120 a to 120 h.

As shown in FIG. 3, the liquid crystal display device L according tothis embodiment of the present invention comprises a rectangularflat-plate-shaped transparent light guiding plate 5 configured totransmit light in a direction parallel to a principal surface thereof.And, a light source 6 is provided along one end face 5 a of the lightguiding plate 5 by a fixing means not shown. Furthermore, a reflectingsheet 7 is provided so as to enclose the light source 6 and to contact alower surface and an opposing end face 5 b of the light guiding plate 5.The reflecting sheet 7 encloses the light source 6 so as to besubstantially in U-shape in cross-section. And, the reflecting sheet 7is fixed to the light guiding plate 5 in such a manner that an adhesionsurface 8 of one end portion of the reflecting sheet 7 is bonded to thelight guiding plate 5 by means of a double face adhesive tape (notshown). In other words, in the liquid crystal display device L accordingto the embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 3, thelight source 6 is disposed along the end face 5 a of the light guidingplate 5, and, the light source 6, the light guiding plate 5, and thereflecting sheet 7 compose an edge light type lighting unit UT.

The rear cover 12 is provided so as to contact a lower surface of thelighting unit UT. The rear cover 12 comprises a rectangular plate-shapedbody portion 12 a disposed to extend in a right-left direction, andrectangular plate-shaped vertical portions 12 c and 12 b formed toextend upward from right and left ends of the body portion 12 a so as tohave the same length. In other words, the lighting unit UT is providedso as to have predetermined spacings between the same and the verticalportions 12 b and 12 c of the rear cover 12 and to contact an uppersurface of the body portion 12 a of the rear cover 12. And, supportingportions 121 a and 121 f for supporting the liquid crystal display panel1 from below are formed on the vertical portions 12 b and 12 c of therear cover 12, in addition to the supporting portions 120 a and 120 f. Arectangular plate-shaped light correction sheet 9 b for uniformizinglight is provided so as to extend from a lower portion of a tip endportion of the supporting portion 121 a to a lower portion of a tip endportion of the supporting portion 121 f. And, the liquid crystal displaypanel 1 is provided so as to extend from an upper portion of thesupporting portion 121 a to an upper portion of the supporting portion121 f. The liquid crystal display panel 1 is fixed to the rear cover 12in such a manner that predetermined regions of the liquid crystaldisplay panel 1 are bonded to the upper portions of the supportingportions 121 a and 121 f. And, the liquid crystal display panel 1 isdisposed on a predetermined position of the rear cover 12 in such amanner that the end faces a and c of the substrate 1B contact sidesurfaces of the supporting portions 120 a and 120 f, and the end face eof the opposed substrate 1A contacts the side surface of the supportingportion 120 a. Front covers 13 a and 13 b in L-shape in cross-sectionare provided so as to cover the non-display region 1 b of the liquidcrystal display panel 1 and the rear covers 12 b and 12 c. The frontcovers 13 a and 13 b are provided so as to have minute spacings betweenthe same and an upper surface of the liquid crystal display panel 1 andto contact the vertical portions 12 b and 12 c of the rear cover 12.

The light guiding plate 5 is made of a material such as acrylic resin.And, the reflecting sheet 7 is formed by a white resinous film having alight reflectivity, for example.

In the liquid crystal display device L thus structured, the lightingunit UT is supported by the rear cover 12. And the liquid crystaldisplay panel 1 is suitably supported by the rear cover 12.

The light emitted from the light source 6 enters the end face 5 a of thelight guiding plate 5. The light propagates within the light guidingplate 5 and emanates from an upper surface thereof. The light leakingout of the lower surface and the end face 5 b of the light guiding plate5 is returned into the light guiding plate 5 by means of the reflectingsheet 7. The light emanating from the upper surface of the light guidingplate 5 passes through the light correction sheet 9 b, thereby achievinguniform intensity distribution. And, when the light which has passedthrough the light correction sheet 9 b is passing through the liquidcrystal display panel 1, transmissivity of the light in the liquidcrystal display panel 1 is controlled by an image signal applied to theliquid crystal display panel 1, and thereby an image is displayed on thedisplay region 1 a of the liquid crystal display panel 1.

In this embodiment, the wire 20 a provided on the non-display region 1 bof the substrate 1B is formed to have a portion which is spaced thepredetermined distance H2 larger than the predetermined distance H1apart from the portion of the end face c of the substrate 1B whichcontacts the supporting portion 120 e and is substantially parallel tothe end face c. And, the wire 20 i provided on the non-display region 1b of the substrate 1B is formed to have a portion spaced thepredetermined distance H2 larger than the predetermined distance H1apart from the portion of the end face b of the substrate 1B whichcontacts the supporting portions 120C and 120 d and is substantiallyparallel to the end face b. Therefore, even when an excessive impactstress or the like is applied to portions of the liquid crystal displaypanel 1 which contact the supporting portions 120 a to 120 h due to fallor the like, and cracks are generated on these portions, occurrence ofbreak of the wires 20 a and 20 i provided on the non-display region 1 bcan be inhibited. In addition, since the impact stress or the like isapplied to the liquid crystal display panel 1 at limited positions whichcorrespond to the supporting portions 120 a to 120 h of the rear cover12, it is possible to control portions of the liquid crystal displaypanel 1 which may be damaged, by changing the positions of thesupporting portions 120 a to 120 h in design. Consequently, it becomespossible to reduce occurrence of a problem that a normal image is notdisplayed in the display region 1 a of the liquid crystal display panel1.

The liquid crystal display panel 1 is required to resist falling of theliquid crystal display device L from a height of approximately 40 cm,considering actual use of the liquid crystal display device L.Accordingly, inventor of the present invention has performed a fall testof the liquid crystal display device L from a desk, and confirmed arelationship between a fall height which causes generation of anabnormal image and a distance between the supporting portions 120c, 120d and 120 e of the rear cover 12, and the wires 20 a and 20 i within theliquid crystal display panel 1, as follows. When the predetermineddistance H2 was set to 0.5 mm, a height which causes abnormal displaywas 20 cm. And, when the predetermined distance H2 was set to 1 mm, aheight which causes abnormal display was 25 cm. However, when thepredetermined distance H2 was set to 2 mm, the height which causesabnormal display was 50 cm. Therefore, it has been confirmed that theproblem that the normal image is not displayed on the display region 1 aof the liquid crystal display panel 1 is inhibited by setting thepredetermined distance H2 in the liquid crystal display panel 1 to atleast 2 mm or more. And, by setting the predetermined distance H2 to notless than 2 mm and not more than 5 mm, a small liquid crystal displaydevice L is effectively obtained.

Although the supporting portions 120 a to 120 h for supporting theliquid crystal display panel 1 are provided on the rear cover 12 in thisembodiment, they may be provided on the front cover, thereby obtaining asimilar effect. And, the number and positions of the supporting portions120 a to 120 h are not intended to be limited as long as the liquidcrystal display panel 1 can be positioned.

Although the holding portions of the liquid crystal display panel 1 aresupporting portions which contact the end faces of the substrates 1A and1B in this embodiment, the liquid crystal display panel 1 may beinterposed and held by these holding portions, for example, as long asthe liquid crystal display panel 1 is supported.

Although the liquid crystal display device L having the lighting unit UTis described in this embodiment, the present invention is alsoapplicable to a reflecting-type liquid crystal display device.

In addition, although the housing is formed by the rear cover 12 made ofmetal in this embodiment, the effects provided by the present inventionare obtained by using housings made of other materials.

Numerous modifications and alternative embodiments of the presentinvention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of theforegoing description. Accordingly, the description is to be construedas illustrative only, and is provided for the purpose of teaching thoseskilled in the art the best mode of carrying out the invention. Thedetails of the structure and/or function may be varied substantiallywithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

A liquid crystal display device according to the present invention isuseful as a consumer and industrial liquid crystal display device.

1. A liquid crystal display device comprising: a liquid crystal displaypanel having one or more wires on a substrate thereof; and a housinghaving holding portions configured to hold opposing end portions of theliquid crystal display panel, wherein a spacing between a portion of anoutermost wire of the one or more wires which is located in the vicinityof the holding portion and a portion of an edge of the substrate whichis located in the vicinity of the holding portion is larger than aspacing between a portion of the outermost wire which is other than theportion located in the vicinity of the holding portion and a portion ofthe edge of the substrate which is other than the portion located in thevicinity of the holding portion.
 2. The liquid crystal display deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the spacing between the portion of theoutermost wire of the one or more wires which is located in the vicinityof the holding portion and the portion of the edge of the substratewhich is located in the vicinity of the holding portion is not less than2 mm and not more than 5 mm.
 3. The liquid crystal display deviceaccording to claim 1 or 2, wherein the spacing between the portion ofthe outermost wire which is other than the portion located in thevicinity of the holding portion and the portion of the edge of thesubstrate which is other than the portion located in the vicinity of theholding portion is less than 2 mm.
 4. The liquid crystal display deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein a non-display region is formed on aperipheral portion of the liquid crystal display panel, and theoutermost wire is provided on the non-display region to extendsubstantially along an end portion of the liquid crystal display panel.5. The liquid crystal display device according to claim 1, wherein thehousing is made of metal.
 6. The liquid crystal display device accordingto claim 5, wherein the housing is formed by a thin plate.